In the recent Guild elections, third-year Chemistry and Japanese student, Luke Brosnan managed to secure a position with Guild Council.

Although Brosnan ran with joke-ticket The Luke Party (aka the 3-ply party), he states that he always had a genuine desire to obtain a Guild position.

“It was all just to have a bit of fun while campaigning,” says Brosnan.

“I did want to get involved with the guild council when I nominated for a position … I do enjoy helping to plan activities and getting involved in making things happen.”

Over the years, joke-tickets have always gained reasonably good traction. Brosnan suggests that this could be a result of students’ ability to connect with the ‘light-heartedness’ of joke campaigns.

“I think so long as you enjoy running with it and take it pretty lightly, other people tend to enjoy it along with you,” he says.

“I guess the joke tickets gain so much popularity because there’s a bit of a bad connotation associated with guild elections, so people tend to like something that takes away from the more serious atmosphere around it.”

This year Brosnan has been involved with the Curtin Chemistry Club, using this experience he wants to use his role as a Councillor to take part in policy decision, help plan events and take a look at processing times for academic misconduct cases—which he has heard can often take over a month to be processed.

“[By] then the next assessment is likely due, or the study period is sometimes over. This isn’t really helpful for anyone, so maybe it’s worth looking into what we can do to streamline this,” he says.

Like many candidates, Brosnan found himself strapped for time around elections, having to juggle campaigning with uni, work and the usual hustle and bustle of life. Perhaps some more Lukes would have come in handy, he says.

According to Brosnan, there is a fair bit of paperwork and communication required in order to establish a new party, but it’s not impossible.

“If you want to make a new ticket, there are no difficult barriers stopping you from doing that. The other parties were indeed welcoming … Everyone that I interacted with from the other tickets was genuine and they were basically just good people, so it was a nice crowd to be involved in.”

In the past, joke party candidates have started off on their own tickets and then moved into one of the mainstream parties the following year, but Brosnan isn’t sure if he’ll follow suit.

“I’ve met some people who started out on a joke ticket and moved to one of the longstanding tickets later on, but most people start out with the ticket that they know they [will] stay with. I can’t speak for the future, but I am looking forward to working with a new group of people with different ideas,” he says.

Providing some advice for students wanting to start their own parties, Brosnan advices to  just go for it, but try to have fun with the experience.

“If I can do it, so can you … It can’t hurt to have a diverse range of tickets to choose from.”

Note: Luke Brosnan does not have any political affiliations.

If you missed the results of the election, take a look at our election coverage here.